The month of October was a record-setting one for activity at the Port of Virginia.
According to the Port, it processed more than 318,000 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) in October, the third consecutive month it surpassed 305,000 units.
Loaded imports and exports are behind the surge. Since August, import TEUs are up 19 percent from last year (to 444,600), and exports are up close to 9 percent (to 254,600).
The total TEU volume for the first 10 months of the calendar year has increased 28 percent from the same period a year ago, and the first four months of the 2022 fiscal year (July 1, 2021-June 30, 2022) is up 23 percent from the first four months of the previous fiscal year.
With a backlog in the supply chain, officials at the Port aren’t expecting things to slow down.
When comparing numbers from October 2021 to October 2020, there was an increase in eight of nine categories. A closer look: Total TEUs up 16.1 percent; loaded export TEUs up 6 percent, loaded import TEUs up 12.5 percent, total containers up 18.2 percent, Virginia Inland Port containers down 5.9 percent , break-bulk tonnage up 83.8 percent, total rail containers up 19 percent, total truck containers up 19 percent, and total barge containers up 28.3. perent.